MLM Marketing Blog

Going Nowhere FAST!

In Southern California where I live, everyone seems to be in a real hurry these days. People zip by me on the freeway doing 75+ mph and get frustrated by anyone that is foolish enough to try to drive at the 65 mph speed limit. It doesn't matter what time of the day it is, everyone is rushing around trying to get somewhere else FAST!

I often find myself wondering what all the hurrying is about and if these people rush through everything else in their life as well. I expect that they do and miss quite a lot of the good things in life in the process. Our hurry up culture tells us, "Speed is Good!".

I find that many people want to hurry up and build their business fast too. And when they come up against an obstacle or a problem, they become very frustrated and want to quit and look for another business that will make them rich faster.

They never realize that because of their lack of patience and unwillingness to allow a business to grow slowly over time, they are actually just going nowhere real fast.

Like a garden, a successful business takes time and attention to grow strong and to yield a bountiful crop. You can't rush Mother Nature and you can't rush your life and business either.

So slow down this month, take some time to learn new things and to plant some patience in your business garden. Remember -- real success, the kind that lasts, comes from doing the little things right, day after day after day.

Linda Locke
MLM Marketing Blog

How to Make Your Resolutions for 2008 a Reality

If you're like me, you've been contemplating how this new year will change your life for the better and are setting some lofty resolutions for the year 2008.

But if you are also like me and have set resolutions to lose weight, make more money, get out of debt, or get rid of the dreaded clutter in your house, that pesky little voice is probably whispering in your ear right now, "That's what you resolved last year -- what happened? and what makes you think you'll do it this year?"

Well, here's what my answer to that: This year, I'm going to concentrate on becoming the person I need to be to achieve those goals. Instead of going on the latest fad diet or wishing that I was less stressed, I'm going to concentrate on being a healthy person who takes care of herself every day, and being a person who is prepared financially and emotionally to handle the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.

The truth is that we are often waiting from someone or something outside of us to change, wishing "If only my boss would give me a raise I could buy a house or if only I had more time I could exercise more or be less stressed etc." and using it as the excuse for why our lives don't change from year to year.

I call this the Have, Do, Be method -- If I had more money, I could do what I need to and pay off my debt, and then I'd be happy. The problem with this method is that you are waiting for something external to happen like winning the lottery or getting a surprise inheritance, and letting the course of your life be set by wishes which may never come true.

Instead I suggest that this year you turn this around and start by making the changes within yourself first or using the Be, Do, Have method. Be the person you want to be and then you'll do what you need to support that belief and you'll have what you want in your life as a consequence. And you don't have to rely on anyone changing but yourself.

There are two books that I suggest you pick up to help you on the quest to become who you really want to be and to change the negative thought patterns that keep you from achieving your goals.

The first is How to Succeed as a Small Business Owner ... and Still Have a Life by Bill Collier and the second, MindSet, the New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck. Both are available from Amazon.com online.

Now, go out there this year and become the person you always thought you could be. You might be surprised about how much you can achieve!

Linda Locke
MLM Marketing Blog

Developing a Marketing Calendar for Your Business

If the thought of developing a full-blown marketing plan for your networking business seems like too much time and trouble for you — here's an idea that's easier and just as effective — developing your own marketing calendar.

Now this isn’t the usual everyday to-do list type of calendar. No, this is one you create specifically for your business marketing.

First, buy one of those large desk calendars with plenty of room for writing. Then, take a colored pen and highlight all the upcoming holidays and any other business special events you want to plan for. Then decide what your marketing plan will be for the upcoming months. Decide on a target date when you’d like to get out an offer to your current customer list to announce an upcoming event or special product offer. For example, you might want to do a postcard mailing featuring some of your specials for the season or an open house you have planned.

After you’ve decided on the target date for the mailing, you can then look at the calendar and mark in the date to start preparing your marketing materials to be ready to mail. Also indicate on your calendar the days when the mailings are likely to reach your customers and then plan to be near the phone on those days and waiting for all those calls to come in.

This is a simple but effective technique that can also be used for publicity and other marketing efforts as well. You’ll be able to see your marketing plan at a glance, boost your sales, and be organized too!

Linda Locke
MLM Marketing Blog

Financial Stress Reduction

Building an MLM business is challenging in many ways, and very often the financial stress causes people to quit their business prematurely.

Here's some wise advise from Chellie Campbell, author of the Wealthy Spirit and Zero to Zillionaire, a former actress and owner of a successful bookkeeping service company, who now teaches people how to be more creative at making and keeping their money.

Here's her guidelines for increasing income and reducing financial stress:

Start off by asking yourself, "What is my attitude and belief system regarding money?"

Once you've defined what you really believe about money, then you can get ready to replace your negative thoughts by following these three steps consistently:

1. Start thinking more positively about money.

Do daily prosperity affirmations, regardless of how silly you think you sound. Some of her recommended affirmations are: "I am rich and wonderful", "People love to give me money","I love what I do and that love brings me all the money I want", and (for skeptics) "My affirmations work for me whether I believe them or not." Chellie suggests that you do your affirmations for 21 days and see what a difference it makes in your life.

2. Send out ships.

These ships may be phone calls, information packs, ads, or presentations. Send your ships out consistently to make the best use of your time. This way, while some of your ships are out making the rounds, you're getting ready to launch more, so if the earlier ones are not profitable, the next ones are already on their way to prospective clients.

3. Show me the money.

Chellie recommends that it is necessary for every business person to have three budgets: a low budget for lean times, a medium budget when you are neither too comfortable nor running too scared and a high budget when you are meeting all your goals. Learning to balance your money flow effectively is one of the keys to long term business success and this system helps you to be prepared for both the lean and prosperous times.

Finally, she says that you need to learn to be happy regardless of what budget level you are on, since your fortunes will fluctuate throughout your life and you will find yourself operating at one of the budget levels at one time or another.

Learning to deal positively with your up and down finances using this three step system will definitely increase your financial peace and make your financial stress a thing of the past.

Linda Locke
MLM Marketing Blog

Create a monthly theme for your marketing efforts

It's so easy to get overwhelmed when you start thinking about all the ways you could market your business. There are so many options you can choose from and so many decisions to make.

So here's an idea to help you cut through the fog of indecision and get something done:

Choose a different marketing method to focus on for each month. For example, join a new business networking group in January, send out some press releases in February, start a blog in March etc.  By choosing only one area to focus on each month as a goal, you're more likely to stick with it and get positive results. 

Here's some more tips from John Jantsch from Duct Tape marketing on how to make this strategy work for you: Marketing is a Habit

Linda Locke
MLM Marketing Blog

Blogging Abounds in Austin, Portland, SF and Seattle

If you live in Austin, Portland, San Francisco or Seattle, you may want to start a blog for your business this year.

Why? Because according to a new study by Scarborough research, these four cities "are the top local markets for people who read or contribute to blogs." The bloggers in these cities are young, middle class, and tech savvy, so creating a blog to reach out to them might just give you a boost in your local market.

Linda Locke
MLM Marketing Blog

 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Wishing you and yours a very happy and safe holiday season!

Linda